Anticlogging device for roof drains



March 23, 1954 J. B. BLAU ANTICLOGGING DEVICE FOR ROOF DRAINS 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 11 1950 INVENTOR. JAMES B. BLAU ATTORNEY March23, 1954 J. B. BLAU ANTICLOGGING DEVICE FOR ROOF DRAINS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed July 11. 1950 INVENTOR.

JAMES B. BLAU ATTORNEY bearing-and as viewed on line 6-6 Patented Mar.23, 1954 UNITED STATES f PATEN OFF 2,672,983 q ANTICLOGGING- DEVIOE FORROOF DRAIN S JamesB. Blau, Bridgeport, Conn. Application July 11, 1950,Serial No. 173,054

1 Claim. (Cl. 210-.-88)

This invention relates vice for roof drains.

It isan object of the present invention to provide an anti-cloggingdevice wherein its rotating head or vane structure can be effected withgreat speed by the water entering the device and with sufficient speedto maintain the device clean and clear of floating debris such as leavesand to an anti-clogging desticks and thereby keep the roof drain pipefrom becoming clogged therewith.

Itis another object of the present invention to provide a turbine wheelfor anti-clogging deabout a vertical axis vices adapted to be turned pfrom a counterclockthat will receive the water wise direction and fromabove in order that the rotating head or anti-clogging vane structuremay, be. rotated in a counterclockwise direction which is the normaldirection of rotation of water entering a down spout or drain andwherein the rotor or turbine wheel is supported with the vane shaft andon a pin or in the bottom of the structure on a common spindle bearingdisposed unit. 7

It is another object of thepresent invention to providean anti-cloggingdevice for roof drains whichcanbe converted for use either to be drivenby an electric motor, that is when power is available, or can have theturbine wheel applied and driven from the water power of the waterentering the roof drain.

Other objects of, the present invention are to provide a down spoutturbine or anti-c1ogging device for roof drains which is of simpleconstruction, inexpensive to manufacture, hasa minimum number of parts,easy or downspout, compact, a unitary structure,.durable and sturdy,requires little maintenance, and eificient in operation.

For other objects and for a better understanding of the invention,reference maybe had to the following detailed description takeninconnection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is aperspective view of. one anti-clogging device of the present inventioninstalled in a roof drain.

' Fig. 2 isa collective view of the device with the rotating headseparated from the driving shaft.

Fig. 3 is. an enlarged fragmentary view of the driving shaft and of theturbine wheel.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the turbine hub.

Fig. 5 is an elevational' view of the device with portionsbroken awayand shown in section. 7

Fig- Bisv an enlarged view of the adjustable pin of Fig. 5. Fig, 7 isanelevational vi w of to install in the roof 'drain a convertible -55 toretain the water upon electric motor and turbine rotor device:constructed according to another form of. they invention.

Fig. 8 is av fragmentary and vertical sectional View taken generally online 8-3 of Fig; .7.

Fig. S! is a bottom plan view taken on line-8..9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary and collective: perspective view of the form ofthe invention shown in Fig- 7 1 Fig. 11 is an enlarged elevational viewof the turbine rotor used with the device shown in :Fig. '7.

Referring now particularly to Figs. .1 to 6, 15 represents a sleevecasing which is adantfidlto lit the upper end of a down spout, or roofdrain. leading'from the top of a roof l1 havinga raised top wall it.This casing is enlarged On, its upper end to provide a strainerportion19 having perfora'tions 20. In the lower end of the casing I5 shaft 23is supported above the turbinewheel structure 25 and within the upperend; of "the sleeve casing l5 by a bearing bracket 38 fixed therewithin,This bearing bracket has a central hub structure 29 and. arms extendingoutwardly therefrom for attachment to the inner wall of the sleevecasing l5 whereby to provide spaces through which the-water may flowwithout interference. V

The turbine wheel structure is includes: a

square hub 353 having saw slits 3i cutdiagonally in each of the foursides of the hub and blades 32 disposed in each of the slits of the hub;It has been determined that water, on entering a d n p in tends t rotatein a ounter l ckwise direetion and accordingly theblades 33=.-have beenarranged to receive the water from that direction so that the ur e'w eeand theshait will be rotated ina countercloclgwisedirectionas V ewedfrom mo or Of the v ce and ill lli the vane structure 27 will besimilarly rotated-to push away the debrisasthe water enters the drain orperforated portion 19 of the sleeve 4.: Each. blade has a peripheralflange 35; in order t mpinged surface will cause air extends into thetubular leaves, sticks and the like that may about the drain opening andfloating thereof in order that the weight of the water, upon passingdownwardly over the surface, will give added movement to the turbinewheel and the parts connected thereto. This flange 33 extends along thelower edge of the blade to hold some of the water upon the surface hub30 is of the shape of a cube and the slits 3| extend diagonally from onecorner corner .of a face. The slits can penetrate the structure to asubstantial distance to bring the blades in close proximity to oneanother. The hub 30 has a hole 34 that tightly receives shaft 23. A setscrew 35 is adjustable in the hub to finally secure the hub to the shaft23.

The shaft 23 has a squared portion 36 for receiving a depending centralprojection or hub 31 having a squared opening 38. A driving connectionof the shaft with the vane structure 21 is accordingly effected. Whenthe vane structure is at rest, the lower end of the depending portion3'! may come to rest upon a set collar 38'. The water, upon entering theperforated portion H) to be collected in the top of the vane structure21 and the vane structure to be lifted. The vane structure, accordingly,will float while water is being passed downwardly through the drain.. Inorder to prevent the escape of the air, a tubular portion 3%] isprovided on the top of the vane structure and is closed at its upper endby a cap M. The shaft 23 has a portion 52 that portion 39 and a washer46 is fixed to the upper end thereof by a bolt 4?.

- This washer will be engaged by a flange it as the floatis elevatedwhereby to limit the upward movement of the vane structure and thedisengagement thereof.

The vane structure has a cylinder wall portion 51 to which a pluralityof vanes are connected. These vanes 52 are circumferentially spaced fromone another and are curved and bent to give a sweeping action to thefloating debris, such as be harboring in the water. automatically brushaside this that access of the debris is not These vanes will floatingdebris so had to the perforations Ed in the portion 1%.

In the upper end of the shaft 23 is an oil passage 54 which leads to thesquared portion 35 of the shaft so that oil or grease deposited in theupper end in any suitable manner can pass downwardly through the shaftand outwardly to lubricate the squared surfaces on the squared. portion36 and the-surfaces in the squared opening 38 whereby to prevent anytendency for the main structure 21 to resist the upward floating ordownward movement. A. set collar 55 is secured to the shaft 23 above theturbine wheel structure 26.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 7 to 11, there is shown a modifiedform of the invention wherein the rotating vane structure can beoperated either by an electric motor turned on and off by a float switchor by a turbine wheel structure. According to this form of the inventionthere is a sleeve casing 6i] adapted to be inserted in a drain pipe elof a building structure 52. Upon the upper end of the sleeve casing Stis a flange 63 adapted to rest upon the roof surface about the drainpipe Bl. This flange has a plurality of lightening holes 64 and radiallyextending projections 65 bent up at their ends, as indicated at GE.

Carried on these projections 65 is a perforated bottom ring 61 servingas a strainer and elevated thereabout is a solid ring H. The bottom ring61 is fixed to the upstanding portions 56 of the in order that the ,thevane structure 99 rivets 69 and the upper ring is made the portions 66by screws 10 that enter inwardly extending angle brackets H. Thesebrackets 'I I have a motor supporting plate 52 thereon. An electricmotor 13 having reduction gearing I4 and an output shaft '15 is securedto the top of the plate 12 by screws 16.

Over the top of the electric motor and its reduction gearing is a hoodl1 that is also secured to the supporting plate '72 and by means ofscrews 18. A cable '19 extends through the cover if and the wiresthereof. connect with the electric motor 13 to supply the same withelectric current. Other wires 8% connect with a float switch 8| securedto the cover within the same and having a float arm 82 extendingoutwardly therefrom and having a float 83. This float 83 lies near thetop of the roof surface so that any body of water building up can engagethe float to start the electric motor for the purpose to be presentlydescribed.

In the lower end of the sleeve casing 60, there is secured a bearingbracket 86 having an internally threaded hub portion 85 for receiving anadjustable bearing pin 86. This pin is held in its adjusted position bya lock nut 81. The pin 86 supports a vertically extending shaft 88 whichhas a square portion 89 on its upper end for drivingly receiving arotary vane structure 98. In the upper end of the shaft, the outputshaft 15 is made secure by a set screw 9!. An oil or grease passageextends into the squared portion 89 of the shaft as indicated at 92 andthrough which oil or grease can be projected by any suitable means facesof the squared portion and of a central structure 93 can be lubricatedto permit the free floating of the rotating vane structure 9t upon theshaft. The vane structure 96 is so shaped that air may be collected inthe top of the same to effect a lifting of the vane structure as may berequired to allow more water to pass beneath the same. The vanestructure is driven at a predetermined speed and vanes 94 thereon willtend to keep the debris washed away from the drain and from an expandedmetal strainer 95 extending upwardly from the flange 63 and held byprojections 96.

This same unit can be run by a turbine wheel structure 91 secured to theshaft 88 and upon the removal of the combined electric motor and gearreduction unit. The turbine wheel structure 91 comprises a hub 98 ofcubical shape in which diagonally extending slots have been cut andsemicircular vanes 99 disposed in the slots whereby to provide a clusterof such vanes against which water descending through the drain mayimpinge. As mentioned above, it has been found that the water tends torotate in a counterclockwise direction and accordingly these blades 98are arranged to receive the force of the water coming from thatdirection and so as to rotate the shaft 88 with thereof in acounterclockwise direction. Each blade 99 has a flange Hill extendingupwardly from the water receiving face thereof so as to prevent theoutward spread of the water upon striking the face and to require thewater to move downwardly over the face of the blade in order that itsweight will give motion to the shaft. The upper end of the flange isflared slightly, as indicated at H) I.

It will be apparent that with this form of the invention the device canbe operated either by the electric motor or by the turbine wheelstructure 91. It should now be apparent that there has been provided ananti-clogging device for roof projection by drains which is of simpleconstruction and easy to install in the drain pipe and which will remove and keep the drain open at all times, free of any debris that mayhave accumulated about the opening.

I claim:

In an anti-clogging device for roof drains, a sleeve casing adapted tofit the upper end of the drain pipe on the roof, a strainer portionconnected to the upper end of the sleeve casing, a vertically extendingshaft in the sleeve casing and strainer portion, pin bearing means inthe lower end of the sleeve casing for supporting said shaft forrotation, an upper shaft bearing, a hub of cubical formation secured tosaid shaft within the sleeve casing, said hub having four faces anddiagonally extending slots out in said faces, turbine blades secured insaid slots to the hub, said blades having peripheral upwardly extendingflanges on their water receiving surfaces, said shaft having a squaredportion, a rotating vane structure comprising a cylindrical wall and atop wall sealed thereto to form an air tight floatable structure andhaving a hub portion with a squared opening slidably connected to thesquared portion of the shaft, said vane structure extending over thestrainer portion and about the side thereof and having vanes, said topwall having an opening therein and a tubular formation extendingupwardly from the top portion and about the opening, said shaft having aportion extending upwardly beyond the squared portion and through theopening vanes on the outer side of said cylindrical wall in the topportion of the vane structure, said shaft extension having a threadedopenmg therein and an oil passage extending therefrom to the squaredportion of the shaft to lubricate the surface thereof to permit freefloating the shaft.

JAMES B. BLAU.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberNumber Name Date Alexander Mar. 29, 1881 Wanless Oct. 18, 1898 CollinsJan. 1, 1901 Sutton Apr. 28, 1903 Peterson Aug. 17, 1937 Heinrich Dec.5, 1939 Ducommun et al. Oct. 26, 1943 Vutz May 27, 1947 Frye May 11,1948 Blau Oct. 25, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Norway Aug. 16,1920

